Wall connection for collapsible containers



Aprll 3, 1945. P. ZALKIND WALL CONNECTION FOR COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Filed Feb. 28, 1942 s saum nwmvu .3 QINVENTOR.

. 2 E Q I ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 3, 1945 WALL CQNNE CTION FOR GOLLAPSIBLE CUNTAINERS Philip Zalkind, New York, N. Y. ApplicationuFebruary 28, 1942, Serial No. 432,770

3 Claims.

This invention isa continuation in-part of my application, Ser. No. 2 ,411, filed May 14-, 1935, now Patent No. 2,274,765, issued March 3, 1942, and relates to containers and,- more particularly, toaformation and arrangement of sheets or panels in such a manner as-to facilitate the con- 'struction' of collapsible containers.

Heretofore, in theconstruction and formation ofcollapsible containers, particularly those casing and drawer combinations which were intended 't'o'beused, when set up, as file cabinets, the emphasis has been upon theme of corrugated board for the main body construction, that material being, the most-economical.

Knock down containers made of wood and metal, are known. These; however, comprise separate members to be assembled and put together by screws. bolts, nails, etc., and are not integrated assembled units.

The present invention provides means and methods for substitution of such non-foldable material aswood veneer, plywood and the like, andforming from these integrated unitary sheets,- or structu-res comprising fold or hinge-lines between the parts.

The essence of. acollapsible container, it should benoted, is not so much that it be collapsible, as thatiitbe so. arranged that it may be shipped and: stored. in flatlcondition, and so that it.may readily, be. erected into usuable form without the necessity for tools or. complicated operations.

Owing, to present conditions, the supply of corrugated board has become seriously inadequate, andzdemand for collapsible files for both government and civil use is-greatly expanding. Theremembers, such as those shown in my Patent Numbers 2,118,011 and 2,159,070, may be'placed on the container; roller mechanisms, such as'those shown in, for instance, my Patent No.- 2,233,906, may be utilized; and interlock members, such as shown in my Patent No. 2,245,026, may also be utilized.

fore,.structures which are integrated and collapsible must be formed from other materials. j

There are certain types of lumber which are still plentiful, such for instance as the so-called "egg, crate veneer.

However, in the utilization of board or other stiff substitute materials of this type in the manufactureoflcollapsible containers, it becomes necessary to provide means which will securely integrate thewalls of the container so that they are. interconnectedwh'ether the container is collapsed or erected, while, at the same time, appropriate bend lines are provided so that the ultimate user may readily erect the container.

In the utilization of such board, various reinforcing and constructional elements may be utilized in the same manner as has previously been done in'connection with corrugated board collapsible containers. g V Thus, for'instance, front and'rear'reinforcing In my application, Serial Number 21,411,- there is also an indication of a manner in which fold lines may be provided, while at the same time, the container remains an integral unit, whether collapsed or erect. Essentially, such bend-lines are fo med by making the juncture between adjacent walls discontinuous and placing across this juncture a suitable connecting member such as a metallic strip. The bend linein the connecting strip, which is bendable, is determined by the discontinuous area in the adjacent walls. The area between adjacent walls need not necessarily be discontinuous. They may be weakened in any suitable manner to provide the same function of predetermining the bend line.

A primary object of the present invention, therefore, is the formation of collapsible containers having walls of relatively stiff material hingedly connected along fold lines by a connecting member.

While it is preferred that this reinforcingmaterial be metal, it may be any other suitable bend able material.

Another object of the presentinvention is'the provision of a collapsible container having; ad-

jacent walls of stiff material interconnected by flexible members.

These, and many other objects of my invention will become apparent in the following description and drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional View and showing an arrangement of the wall members of the file cabinet.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view showing the container of Figure 1 in collapsed condition.

Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 are fragmentary views in perspective showing various types of interconnecting and reinforcing members.

Figure 7 and 8 are cross sectional viewsshowing the manner in which the reinforcing members of Figure 6 may be used.

Figure 9 is a cross sectional View of a'threesided container showing the arrangement of thereinforcing members for connecting the walls.

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view partly in perspective, showing the container of Figure 9 in collapsed condition.

InFigures 1 and 2 I have shown in erected and collapsed condition a file casing or container in which the walls are of wood veneer and wherein stapes may be used to effect the interconnection of the walls.

Referring to Figure 2, which shows the collapsed co'ndition, walls 5Ia and 53a are connected by staples. The staple I has a main portion IOI which passes entirely through the wall Ia and along the edge a of wall 53a. The clinched-over legs I02 and I03 of the staple I00 pass once more through the walls 5Ia and 53a in the manner shown in Figure 2. Similar staples I00 are provided at the opposite end of- III! of staple I05 is clinched over and caused to enter into the wall 54a; thus, the staple I05 is S-shaped, while the' staple I 00 is C-shaped. Again, similar staples I05 are used to connect the walls 5Ia and 52a.

When the container is unfolded, it unfolds to the position shown in Figure 1.

The bend lines are all predetermined by the fact that edges of the adjacent walls abut against medial portions of the staples Hi0 and I05 thus, definitely guiding and predetermining the bend lines in each staple.

The projection of wall 5Ia beyond wall 53a, and the projection of wall 52a beyond wall 54a predetermine the order of folding.

The casing, when erected, then has the form shown in Figure l where the staples I00 have been bent to the form shown in Figure 1, and the staples I05 have been bent to a true S-shaped form, shown in Figure 1.

Obviously, any type of connecting material may be used in exactly the same manner, with the order of unfolding of the container being predetermined by similar arrangements, and the fold or bend lines in the connecting or reinforcing members being predetermined either by appropriate spacing or weakening of adjacent walls to determine the bend line, or by arrangement of the adjacent walls to provide straight edges which determine the bend line.

Metal connecting strips may of course be used.- While it is preferred that for simplicity in construction the strips have a simple form, various decorative forms may be utilized which will either conceal the slots from which the prongs are driven, or which may serve to further reinforce the strips themselves and to further predetermine the bend lines.

Thus, in Figure 3, I have shown a metallic connecting strip, i55a. Here, the metallic strip has exactly the same essential construction for connecting purposes, including the prongs 62 formed out of slots in the body of the metallic strip and with each row of prongs extending in opposite direction to be secured to adjacent walls. The slots from which each row of prongs has been driven are, however, covered by reentrant flanges I and I'll which are bent over to conceal them. The edges of these flanges assist in determining the bend line of the metallic strip, and at the same time provide for a decorative covering which conceals the slots.

Similarly, in Figure 4, I have shown a metallic strip I55 in which each row of prongs 62, in this case, extends on the same side of the strip I55, and the reentrant flanges I23 and I24 serve to provide a decorative and reinforcing cover for the slots from which the prongs are driven. Again, the edges of these reentrant flanges may assist in determining the bend line.

In Figure 5, I have shown a modification of the constructions of Figures 3 or 4 wherein the basic strip 255 is provided with its prongs 62 and the covering strip or flange 224 is also provided with prongs 262 which are downwardly depressed and in face to face engagement with the rongs 62.

In order to ensure that these prongs may be close to each other and operate as a single reinforced prong, the slots I30, from which prong 62 is driven, may extend on one side of the line of prongs, and the slot I3I, from which prong 262 is driven, may extend from the opposite side of the line of prongs. The two prongs 62 and 262 may then operate as a single unit.

The member 224 may be a reentrant flange on the main metallic strip 255, or the member 224 may :be the main metallic strip, and the element 255 may be the reentrant flange.

,In Figures 6 to 8 I have shown a metallic connecting strip 355 which is provided with a downwardly dependent prong 62 and with a downwardly dependent prong 362.

The lines of prongs 62 are to engage the wall 5|, and the lines of prongs 362 are to engage the wall 53, as shown in Figure '7.

The strip 355 is provided with a reentrant flange 324 from which an additional line of prongs 325 are struck, these prongs 325 being struck out of slots 326.

The prongs 62 and 362 are pointed prong members which are utilized for securement purposes in the manner shown in Figure '7.

The prongs 325 cooperate with the additional flange 330 to form a spacing channel. That is,

'as shown in Figure 7, the. walls 5I and 53 are spaced from each other by the space 63 which is equal in extent to the thickness of a wall. The flange 330 and the line of prongs 325 are spaced from each other by the thickness of a wall so that they may accurately space the wall members 5| and 53. The prongs 62 and 362 serve eifectually to secure the walls 5| and 53 on opposite sides of the members 330 and 325.

An accurate folding line 61, in the member 355, is predetermined by reason of the fact that the double thickness of flange 324 terminates at the fold line 61 thus providing an additional stress difierential which will ensure the accuracy of the fold line,

Since the fold line necessarily occurs at the area 61, then, when the walls 5I and 53 are bent with respect to each other, the members assume the form shown in Figure 8.

The external appearance of the metallic connecting member 355 is then the same as if a simple planar strip were used.

My inventionis, of course, capable of many modifications and may be utilized not merely in file cabinets of the ordinary types, but may be utilized, for instance, in three-sided casings.

Thus, for instance, in Figures 9 and 10, I have shown a three-sided casing 200 having a top wall 20I and side walls 202 and 203.

The walls 203 and 20I are interconnected by metallic strip 60a. I

A similar metallic strip 60a is used on the opposite side at the wall connection between walls 20| and 202. i

The edge 20-5 of wall 203 is a predetermining factor which, upon rotation of walls 203 and 20! with respect to each other, will effectuate a bend of the strip Blla along a line coinciding with the edge 20-5. Similarly, the edge 20a of wall 202 predetermines the area of bend of the strip 60a when walls 202 and 201 are rotated with respect to each other.

Thus a simple three-sided casing of the form shown in Figures 9 and 10 may be formed.

Essentially, in the present invention, I have shown a means for utilizing relatively stiff material, preferably of a fibrous nature, in order to form collapsible containers.

For this purpose, I have shown means for utilizing reinforcing and connecting elements which have previously been found to be feasible and practical in the case of collapsible containers made of paper board or other rather flexible, fibrous materials.

In the present case, although, it is preferred that fibrous material be used as the construction lends itself to the utilization of material which is rather stiff and relatively inflexible. It makes possible the utilization of the cheapest kind of wood board as, for instance, the so called "egg crate veneer. It makes possible the creation of collapsible containers from relatively stiff material where the container may be shipped in collapsed form as an integral unit, and may merely be unfolded by the user in the same manner as was previously done in connection with other types of other collapsible containers made of flexible material.

, While, for structural purposes, the connecting members may preferably be metallic, yet, as has been. set forth, any material which is bendable or even flexible may be used for interconnecting the relatively stiff walls of the container.

In the foregoing, I have described merely representative embodiments of my invention. Many other forms in which my invention may be utilized should now be obvious to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, I prefer to be bound, not by the specific disclosures herein, but only by th appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pair of panels extending in substantially the same plane, a hinged connection therefor; said panels being in spaced edge to edge relation, the space between adjacent edges being of the order of the thickness of one of said panels, said hinged connection comprising a strip extending longitudinally over the space between adjacent edges and secured by prongs struck therefrom at the adjacent margins of said panels; said panels being rotatable relative to each other, the line of bend in said metallic strip when said panels are rotated being determined by the spacing between said edges, said strip having a reentrant flange covering areas from which the prongs are struck.

2. A pair of panels extending in substantially the same plane, a hinged connection therefor; said panels being in spaced edge to edge relation, the space between adjacent edges being of the order of the thickness of one of said panels, said hinged connection comprising a strip extending longitudinally over the space between adjacent edges and secured at the adjacent margins of said panels; said panels being rotatable relative to each other, the line of bend in said metallic strip when said panels are rotated being determined by the spacing between said edges, and additional means carried by said strip for determining the bend line of said strip.

3. A pair of panels and a hinged connection therefor; said panels extending substantially in face to face relation, the registering adjacent edges of said panels being in stepped relation to each other, one edge of one panel being stepped inwardly from the adjacent edge of the other panel; said hinged connection comprising a Wire stitch, secured to the outer surface of the one panel and passing across the edge thereof and secured to the inner surface of the other panel;

said panels being rotatable to angular relation; said stitch being bendable, the bend in said stitch being determined by the edge of said one panel.

PHILIP ZALKIND. 

